Flu-vaccine rush eases, but season's far from over

LOWELL -- Bob Audet isn't certified to give out flu shots himself. So for the second year in a row, he got the Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Lowell to help.

"Corporate pharmacies have pharmacists that are trained and certified to give shots, but they don't have any to give," said Audet, owner of Pawtucket Pharmacy.

The Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Lowell held a flu clinic Friday morning at the Pawtucket Street pharmacy. The nurses came equipped with 100 doses of vaccine but only used 35 of them, a number that may reflect a stabilization of the flu craze.

"We anticipated more because we got a lot of calls and there seemed to be a lot of interest," said Irene Egan, director of community development at VNA of Greater Lowell.

Flu season has been tumultuous already, whereas it usually peaks in early February. An unusually high number of influenza and influenza-like illness cases in Massachusetts, along with a subsequent declaration of a state of emergency in Boston by Mayor Tom Menino, led to long lines at pharmacies and short-term vaccine shortages.

"The publicity seems to have caused a lot of people who might have been hesitant before to get it," said Egan. "As the state says, it's never too late to vaccinate."

The spike looks like it's died down in the past couple of weeks. The weekly flu report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health stated that 2.4 percent of all hospital visits in the state for the week ending Jan.

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18 were due to influenza or influenza-like illness. The number, while still higher than usual for this time of year, is lower than it was at its peak two weeks ago, when it was close to 4.5 percent.

"The flu season is still severe and ongoing and there are still slammed hospitals trying to handle the overflow," Frank Singleton, director of the Lowell Health Department, said in an email. "Things have died down considerably, although Lowell General Hospital is still very busy."

The demand caused "runs" on the pharmacies. There was no widespread vaccine shortage, but there may not have been any vaccine at one pharmacy at a given time. Target in Lowell just got 300 doses of the vaccine, and the Lowell Health Department has vouchers for people without health insurance to get free flu shots at Walgreens.

The VNA has done about 20 clinics since the fall, mostly at homes for the elderly. Audet, who is on the board of directors for the VNA of Greater Lowell, felt that a free public clinic was important for community health, especially in a year when the flu is so prevalent.

"Theraflu's been flying off the shelves," said Audet. "Fortunately, this year's vaccine is on target. Immunity is so important, so if you get the shot, you will not be getting nearly as sick if you do end up getting the flu."

Health-care professionals agree that getting a flu shot is the best defense against influenza. Nancy Harding, the senior clinic nurse for the VNA of Greater Lowell who has personally administered 400 shots this year alone, said people often mistake the flu for the common cold, which the vaccine doesn't protect against, and that the vaccine doesn't get you sick.

"You'll know it's the flu -- you won't be able to get off the couch," said Harding. "I tell people that it's a coincidence if you get sick after you get the shot. You might have already been infected before you got the shot, and it takes two weeks to go into effect anyway."

Egan said the VNA will use its remaining doses on its patients and may have another clinic before the flu season ends. She said that the best prevention for people who already have the vaccine are washing hands thoroughly, coughing with proper etiquette and avoiding contact with people who may be infected.

"Aside from getting vaccinated, we tell them good hand-washing is the simplest, least-expensive way of preventing the flu," said Egan. "And we all love hugs, but we don't love getting sick."

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